One of the reasons that I support the National Popular Vote bill (which passed our Oklahoma Senate earlier this year) is that it is important that all 50 states count in presidential elections.

Because of current state "winner-take-all" statutes, Oklahoma and 37 other states were totally ignored in the 2012 general-election campaign. I agree with former Speaker Newt Gingrich who recently gave the following reasons to support a nationwide vote for President:

"The National Popular Vote initiative [is] an important project [that] has the potential to transform the way we elect our presidents and to make sure all Americans have a voice in their future.

"No one should become president of the United States without speaking to the needs and hopes of Americans in all 50 states. We are a country of 314 million people, the most diverse nation on the Earth. This is one of our greatest strengths, and it means our president must be the president of an enormously complex and varied country — of those in midtown Manhattan and southern California, as well as those in rural Oklahoma and the wilderness of Alaska.

"Unfortunately, the current system for electing presidents does not reflect this tremendous diversity. The winner-take-all method of allotting electoral votes means candidates must focus their efforts on just a handful of closely divided states — Ohio, Florida, and Virginia being current examples. In fact, only 12 states received any attention at all from the nominees of either party in the most recent general election campaign. This left Americans in 38 states absent from some very important debates about the future of our country.

"Presidential elections are unique opportunities to have a national conversation. They are the venue in which arguments are made and challenged, the time when men and women who seek our highest office must get out of Washington and listen to the American people. It is through this process that our leaders earn legitimacy and claim the trust of our country on election day. For this reason, I have always believed it is the obligation of great parties and good candidates to run truly national campaigns, addressing the concerns of Americans in all 50 states.

"America would be better served with a presidential election process that treated citizens across the country equally. The National Popular Vote bill accomplishes this in a manner consistent with the Constitution and with our fundamental democratic principles."